In a very exciting season opener for the Maine women’s basketball team on Thursday night, Olivia Alvarez hit a shot with 2.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Black Bears a 70-68 victory over Siena on Skip Chappelle Court at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono.
Maine used a 13-0 run in the first quarter to take a 19-6 lead, an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish until the later stages of the fourth. After Siena cut it six at the end of the first, which was the same deficit at halftime (32-26), the Black Bears provided some cushion in the third. An 11-3 run by the hosts capped off with a jumper by Lizzy Gruber (Gardiner) stretched it to 45-30 with 5:35 left in the period, their largest lead of the night.
The Saints came back strong though. After Alvarez knocked down a three-pointer to make it 58-48 with 7:19 left to play, Siena reeled off 11 straight points in just under two minutes to jump in front for the first time 59-58. The run was helped by two Maine turnovers in the backcourt. 15 seconds later, Lala Woods regained the Black Bears lead with a three-pointer. Kayia Rain evened it back up for the guests with a layup, before another three-pointer by Alvarez and a Gruber layup made it 66-61 with 2:50 remaining. Siena wasn’t quite done however. Nicole Melious buried a pair of three-pointers, the second of which came off a steal by her teammate Francesca Schiro to make it 67-66 Saints. Maddie Fitzpatrick (Cheverus) hit a layup off a feed from Gruber for Maine, and Myanna Hatchette hit 1-2 from the foul line over the next two possessions to even the game 68-68 with 50 seconds showing on the clock. After each team had an empty possession, the Black Bears got another chance and called a timeout with 16.6 seconds to go. The ball would come to Alvarez on the left wing, and she would drive down the lane two steps inside the foul line to float a shot up that rolled around the rim and in. Siena had one last chance with no timeouts left, but the heave from halfcourt was well off the mark as time expired.
Siena put three players in double figures in the loss led by Melious who had 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists. The Saints, who were picked second in the preseason Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coaches Poll, falls to 1-1. Gruber and Fitzpatrick both had double doubles in the Maine win. Gruber had 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Fitzpatrick registered 14 points, 17 rebounds, and three assists. Woods also got into double figures with 13 points, while Kaliyah Sain had nine. Alvarez and Abby Price put in eight points a piece. Bailey Breen (Oceanside) made her collegiate debut and didn’t attempt a shot in six minutes, but did grab three rebounds and had one assist. The Black Bears were huge on the glass with the help of Gruber and Fitzpatrick, outrebounding the Saints 43-33. Maine will travel to play at Merrimack College on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Photo of Olivia Alvarez is from UMaine Athletics
